He who has the Son has life;
he who does not have the Son of God does not have life (1 John 5:12).

I’ve been asked a lot of questions lately about how/why I came up with a new fiction genre that my publisher (New Hope) calls “fiction with a mission.” Let me answer that by telling you the name of the series: “Extreme Devotion.” This particular series has to do with Christians in other countries who often pay a great price for their faith, but the term “extreme devotion” applies to anyone, anywhere, who is so in love with Jesus that all else pales by comparison.
Now if we claim to have that level of love for Christ, that should mean that we are ready at a moment’s notice to lay down anything or everything to follow Him. Anything? Everything? Really? Words may come easy, but actions are a bit tougher, particularly when those actions include following a Savior who had little or no earthly possessions, always put the needs of others ahead of His own, and then willingly died an excruciating death to purchase freedom for those who hated Him.
Hmm. Sort of stops us in our tracks and makes us think a bit, doesn’t it? And yet we know that the very same Jesus who lived and died so selflessly then rose from the grave and ascended into heaven to rejoin His beloved Father for all eternity. If we are committed to following after Jesus in life and death, then we can be assured that we will follow Him right into eternity with the Father.
What on earth could possibly compare to that? What temporal gain is worth trading for that eternal promise? If the Son of God is truly our Savior, then we already have eternal life; if we reject Him, we are dead even before we breathe our last.
It’s all about extreme devotion, living each day with the reminder that He is all and everything, and we need nothing else. What freedom and joy that knowledge brings! May you increase in extreme devotion to Him today, dear friends.